The present invention relates to a wing arrangement for an aircraft comprising a wing having a base section and a tip section, the base section having a first end portion and a second end portion, the tip section having a third end portion and a fourth end portion, wherein the first end portion is adapted to be coupled to the fuselage of the aircraft and wherein the second end portion and the third end portion are coupled with each other so that the tip section is pivotable with respect to the base section about a pivot axis.
The aspect ratio, i.e. the ratio of span to chord, of an aircraft wing is one factor influencing the efficiency of the aircraft during flight. Generally, an increase of the aspect ratio is associated with an increased efficiency during steady flight. Therefore, an increase of the wingspan of an aircraft is one factor to take into consideration when seeking to reduce fuel consumption. However, when elongating the wing of an existing family of aircraft, it may become necessary to adapt the aircraft family specific infrastructure, and airport fees may increase.
One possibility to increase the wingspan without having to adapt the aircraft family specific infrastructure and having to deal with increased airport fees, or to reduce airport fees for existing aircraft is to provide for a foldable wing construction which allows to pivotably move an outboard end portion of the wing between a deployed position, in which the wing has its normal flight configuration, and a stowed position, in which the wing has a folded configuration and the wingspan is decreased as compared to the deployed position.